Arts

Books
Arts

Reckoning With Afghanistan's Toll In 'Green On Blue'

12:36pm February 22, 2015

"Green on Blue" tells the story of the war in Afghanistan through the eyes of an Afghan orphan. NPR's; Rachel Martin speaks to the unlikely author: Elliot Ackerman, a former U.S. marine.

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In the movie, the cattle herder Kidane (center, played by Ibrahim Ahmed) and his family live in a tent in the mountains near Timbuktu.

Director Of Oscar-Nommed 'Timbuktu' Found A Star In A Refugee Camp

7:03am February 22, 2015

by Rena Silverman

A 12-year-old girl followed him everywhere. And she got the part. Abderrahmane Sissako tells what it's like to make a reality-based movie in Mauritania.

Ethan Hawke, backstage at The Bell House in Brooklyn, N.Y. Later, he would serenade Ask Me Another's winning contestant.

Arts

'Act Of Faith': Ethan Hawke Talks 'Boyhood' And Its 12-Year Shoot

5:50am February 22, 2015

The actor may have spent the past 12 years filming Boyhood, but does he remember what life was like back in 2002 when he started filming? We'll test his knowledge in an Ask Me Another Challenge.

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Youjung Jung takes a customer's order for a new outfit at her store Hanbok Story in Queens, N.Y.

Arts

Korean Tailors Try To Keep The Lunar New Year Hanbok Ritual Alive

11:06pm February 21, 2015

by Hansi Lo Wang

A new year's tradition of wearing a new, custom-tailored outfit to celebrate the Lunar New Year is fading in Korean culture.

"Jennifer In Paradise," a photo of Jennifer Walters in Bora Bora in August 1988, was the first color image to ever be Photoshopped. John Knoll used the image of his then-girlfriend (now wife) to demo Photoshop to potential users.

Arts

Adobe Photoshop: 'Democratizing' Photo Editing For 25 Years

9:48pm February 21, 2015

by NPR Staff

The photo editing system Adobe Photoshop turned 25 this week. NPR's Arun Rath talks to co-founder Thomas Knoll about how the system has changed and where it's going.

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The raft sequences in Unbroken were filmed on a giant tank of water in Australia, near a highway and an amusement park. All of the dialogue had to be re-recorded on a sound stage.

Arts

The Woman Behind The Oscar-Nominated Sound Of 'Unbroken'

6:25pm February 21, 2015

by Becky Sullivan

The film's tricky dialogue and dogfights were made possible by Becky Sullivan — the fifth woman ever nominated for the sound editing award. NPR's own Becky Sullivan met her to learn about the craft.

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Sloss, pictured here at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, has been a key figure associated with independent films including The Fog of War, Little Miss Sunshine and Banksy's Exit Through The Gift Shop.

Arts

Meet John Sloss, The Man Behind Some Of Your Favorite Indie Films

6:19pm February 21, 2015

by Mandalit del Barco

Sloss is a lawyer, talent manager, sales agent and producer for films like Boys Don't Cry, The Fog of War and Boyhood. "He's a bulldog. He fights for the films he believes in," one filmmaker says.

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Arts

King Of Condensed Films: Meet Chuck Workman, The Oscars' Montage Master

9:20am February 21, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

It's a classic element of the Oscars telecast: that sequence of clips paying tribute to film industry greats. Chuck Workman created them for 20 years, and likens his craft to making a fruitcake.

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Matt Sumell's fiction has appeared in Electric Literature, The Paris Review and McSweeney's, among other outlets.

Books
Arts

Through 10 Years Of Mining His Grief, A Novelist Makes 'Nice'

9:20am February 21, 2015

by Tom Vitale

Matt Sumell wrote Making Nice in part as a response to his mother's death from cancer. "I was using the good luck of bad luck," he says. "You use what hurts."

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Books
Arts

A Lot Of Sound And Fury In 'The Infernal'

7:03am February 21, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

Mark Doten's debut novel has some beautiful writing in it, but critic Jason Sheehan says the book suffers from too much verbal and typographical trickery, and not enough actual story.